


Makoto's Troubles, Again

by kuonji



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Gen, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23311507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuonji/pseuds/kuonji
Summary: Makoto frowned as Nagisa carefully poured water from a water bottle into his cupped hands. "If Haru will strip me from just this, I don't know what I'll do."Nagisa's upperclassman is once again troubled by Haru's love of water in inappropriate settings.  Nothing for it but to conduct a second series of experiments!
Relationships: Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Makoto's Troubles, Again

Makoto heaved a sigh that sounded too emphatic for simply the end of practice.

Nagisa perked up, sensing something interesting in his vicinity. "What's wrong, Mako-chan?"

"Oh! I didn't mean to..." Makoto's excuse-apology trailed off, and he sighed again. "It's Haru. Lately, he's been stripping again."

"Really? I thought he stopped that after the pool was done being refurbished. Anyway, Haru-chan can't have that much energy left over after you two started dating." He poked the taller boy in the side, his elbow at just the perfect height to hit the ticklish soft spot above Makoto's hip.

Makoto dodged, even as he giggled on reflex. "Nagisa!" His smile dropped away disappointingly quick. "That's the problem, though. Haru doesn't strip himself. He..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "He strips _me_."

"Whoa!" Explosive images appeared like neon-dyed popcorn in Nagisa's head.

"Wait." Makoto held up one hand, palm out. "It's not what you're thinking."

Nagisa pouted. Makoto couldn't know exactly what he'd been thinking. Anyway, he didn't believe for a minute that his upperclassmen were as vanilla as Makoto pretended.

"He just tries to get my shirt off. Well, sometimes my pants, too. But nothing really bad!"

Nagisa nodded, distracted because a brilliant plan was already forming in his mind. "We should do another experiment!" he declared.

"Another--" Makoto's scandalized tone wavered. He scratched the back of his head. "I suppose anything might help at this point."

Nagisa cheered.

***

Makoto frowned as Nagisa carefully poured water from a water bottle into his cupped hands. "If Haru will strip me from just this, I don't know what I'll do."

Nagisa saw movement from the direction of the entrance gate. "Here he comes!"

He heard Makoto take a quick breath and hold it as Haru approached them. Silently, Nagisa rooted for something dramatic to happen...

...but Haru merely gave the two of them a quizzical look before heading to the changing rooms.

"Hmmm." Nagisa rubbed his chin.

***

By the time Haru had changed and come back out, Nagisa was ready with a small face-washing tub he'd brought from home. "Haru-chan!" he called, holding up the tub and sloshing some of the water over the edges.

Again, Haru only frowned slightly. "What?"

No go, then. Nagisa elbowed Makoto. It was his turn.

"Haru, what about this?" Makoto help up a pail full to the brim with water. Smiling as if to tempt a wary cat, he held the pail towards his boyfriend.

This time, Haru's frown was more pronounced. He didn't even spare the pail a glance. "Go get changed. I want to swim."

Makoto slumped, whether in disappointment or relief it was hard to tell. He set the pail down. "Well, then, I'll--"

"Nope, we're not done yet," Nagisa interrupted their team captain before Makoto could abandon their _very important_ experiment.

"Why are you two acting so strange?" Haru asked.

That was a reasonable question. Nagisa had never been stopped by reasonable questions before. "Becaaaaause, Haru-chan, I wanted you to take a look at _this_."

He pushed Makoto aside, ignoring his startled yelp, and stepped aside himself -- revealing a large washtub filled with clear, beautiful water just waiting for Haru to get starry-eyed (and strip-happy) over.

Nagisa bounced his eager gaze between his two upperclassmen. Makoto had his hands on his hips in reprimand, but he was looking at Haru and his expression was trepidatious.

Haru took a step forward and looked at the tub. "There's nothing in it."

What?

"There's _water_ in it, Haru-chan! Water!"

Haru gave him a flat look that said clearly, without words, _What is wrong with you?_

At that, Makoto coughed a disguised chuckle into one fist. Nagisa pouted. Was this all a trick to make him look ridiculous? Makoto didn't seem the type. Besides, he had looked really troubled earlier, and he wasn't at all a good actor.

"What's everyone doing? Why aren't you doing your stretches already?"

Nagisa winced at the strident demands from their team manager. Gou glared around at them. She was already in her exercise uniform.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" The gate clattered again as a much less frowny-faced team member ran in, gym bag bouncing at his side.

Oh, this was good timing. Nagisa hooked his arm around Rei's elbow and dragged him toward the changing room. "Sorry, Gou-chan! We'll be right out!" He glanced back appeasingly at Gou and saw her roll her eyes.

"Nagisa-kun! I can walk on my own. Why are we in such a hurry?"

"You need to help me with a scientific investigation!"

"Science? You?" Rei repeated dubiously.

Once in the changing room, instead of getting into his swimsuit, Nagisa ran to the back and pulled out the inflatable kiddie pool they had stored there. "Help me inflate this!"

"Why on Earth would I do that?" Rei crossed his arms, looking stern.

The door clicked open, slow and wary. "Nagisa, it's okay. I'm sure--"

Nagisa yanked Makoto the rest of the way inside and slammed the door closed. "Both of you take turns so it'll be faster. Think of it as training for breathing techniques! I'll keep time for inhales and exhales." He picked up a tambourine he had brought specially for this and began tapping a slow but steady rhythm.

The two other boys gaped at him.

"Hurry!" he urged, and grinned when they scrambled to comply.

***

Shortly, they were changed, as requested/demanded/ordered by their manager. Both Rei and Makoto were panting for breath, so Nagisa took it upon himself to march out of the room with their prize. He dropped the now fully inflated kiddie pool at the edge of the actual swimming pool, where Haru was making a return in the rightmost lane.

"What is that for?" Gou asked, looking too bewildered to scold them just yet. Good.

Haru reached them and popped his head out. He narrowed his eyes, framed by dripping bangs. Though his mouth was under the waterline, Nagisa could read his suspicious frown.

While everyone was either confused or recovering, Nagisa snatched up the hose and began filling the kiddie pool.

"Ta-daaaaa!" he proclaimed, allowing the water to flow in a nice, dramatic arc to splash into the pool. He could see Haru's expression shifting from annoyed to curious.

Excitement rose in him. He was sure this would be it. He hadn't been too discouraged earlier, because last time, too, Haru hadn't reacted until they'd brought this out. When he had reacted, however, he had somersaulted right in before it'd even been filled all the way!

Nagisa was expecting some results very soon.

The kiddie pool got to a quarter full.

Haru came to the edge of the pool and held up one hand.

"Haru?" Makoto pulled him out. Haru got to his feet and shook the water out of his hair, just like he normally did.

The kiddie pool was now almost half full.

Still holding Makoto's hand while dripping dark spots onto the concrete, Haru gave Makoto a look that might be... indulgent? Nagisa tipped up on his toes.

The kiddie pool was over half full now.

Everyone watched in perfect silence as Haru dropped his boyfriend's hand.

"Huh?" Nagisa stared, dumbfounded as Haru turned abruptly away from Makoto, who blinked and looked about to call him back. Unheeding, Haru walked to where the rest of the hose was coiled next to the fence... and twisted the faucet off.

He straightened and glared at Nagisa. "Don't waste water," he admonished.

Ignoring all of them, he dove back into the pool and began swimming again, as if nothing had happened.

Still holding the now useless hose, Nagisa tried to kick his sputtering brain into figuring out what his next step should be now.

"It looks like something unusual is happening here," a clear, authoritative voice interrupted all of them. 

Oops, the experiment had run too long. Ms. Ama-chan had arrived, and although she was smiling pleasantly, she looked like she wanted an explanation.

***

Detective Nagisa had had a setback, that was for sure.

He had made some excuse to Ms. Ama-chan, but he hadn't been so lucky with Gou and Rei after practice was over. After they'd gotten done laughing, they had tried half-heartedly to express some real sympathy for Makoto.

The boy himself, of course, had left with Haru, the experiment evidently no longer a source of concern for him. They'd probably gone off to Haru's house to have some _alone_ time together.

Nagisa scowled and turned to his stomach on his bed, yanking his pillow over his head.

Where had he gone wrong?

He'd followed exactly what he'd done last time but hadn't gotten the same result. The only difference now was that instead of stripping and jumping into the kiddie pool himself, Haru _should_ have stripped Makoto and pushed both of them in. Right?

Oh.

Haha. Yes. How silly of him to have forgotten.

Nagisa, Experimenter Extraordinaire, had it now. The key.

Satisfied, he settled into a sleep of happy dreams.

***

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Nagisa. I know you went to a lot of trouble for me."

Nagisa waved away Makoto's apology, airily unconcerned. He had a new avenue of investigation now, and he was sure he was right this time. "It's fine. Let's go over there and you can make it up to me."

"Over there...? Don't we need to get changed? You know how annoyed Gou gets if we're goofing off."

Nagisa puffed up. "Are you the captain or not?"

Sighing, Makoto followed him to the kiddie pool. At Nagisa's prescient insistence yesterday, they'd left it alone instead of emptying and deflating it. Other than a couple of stray leaves that Nagisa plucked out, it still looked fine.

Haru entered the pool area and stared at them in an odd déjà vu of both yesterday and last year. "What, now?" he asked, sounding testy. He came over to them. "Makoto, get changed. I want to swim."

Nagisa waved his arms at the kiddie pool. "Wait! Don't you want to do something first, Haru-chan?" He dragged Makoto over a few steps so that he was standing directly next to it, one trouser leg brushing the curved vinyl side.

Haru paused and returned Nagisa's gaze with a puzzled one. "What should I do?"

"Maybe it's not the water after all," Makoto mused out loud.

Nagisa drooped. He'd been so sure... He looked Makoto up and down. The boy wasn't wearing his swimsuit yet. He was in his normal uniform, utterly strippable, standing next to a body of water just like Haru should like...

"Oh, wait, I get it." Nagisa squatted to scoop a cup of water in his hands. He stood. Keenly, he watched Haru watching him. Did he detect a spark that hadn't been there before?

Makoto shook his head. "That already didn't work, Na-- gah!" He spluttered and wiped water from his face. "What was that for? _Gah!!_ " he yelled again, more emphatically. "Haru, stop!"

Haru had sprung into action, his fingers having made short work of Makoto's tie before Nagisa had so much as blinked. Now, he was working on Makoto's shirt buttons.

"Haru! Haru, wait!"

"What is-- Oh, my!"

Nagisa didn't have time to look at the no doubt _amazing_ expression on Gou's face, because he was too busy staring as Haru speed-stripped his boyfriend.

Summer jacket went flying.

Tie went flying.

Shirt went flying.

Belt.

"Haruka-senpai!"

Another opportunity missed, but Nagisa had seen Rei flabbergasted before by other things. _This_ , he didn't want to miss.

Shoes and socks, even. Haru was on a roll! And next...

"Not the pants, Haru. I mean it." Makoto grabbed his boyfriend's hands. He'd recovered from his surprise enough to make his voice firm rather than flustered, though his cheeks were adorably pink.

That gave Haru pause. Then he nodded-- and pushed Makoto backwards into the kiddie pool, causing him to yelp and lose all his serious sternness once more. Since Makoto was still holding his hands, Haru went, too. From his eager expression (which Nagisa was able to see up close from his excellent position right beside the action), Haru seemed all right with that.

Nagisa pulled out his phone and opened the camera to document the moment. "Experiment 2, Day 2 a success," he declared, as he snapped a picture. "It's not _just_ being near water that does it, Mako-chan. It's when _you're_ splashed with water, too."

"I... I see..." Makoto sighed. "Thank you. That's useful to know." His legs were dangling out of the kiddie pool. His face was still damp while his bare torso and the seat of his pants were well-soaked. Haru, fully dressed, was snuggled on top of him with his eyes closed. The water came up barely high enough to get Haru's front wet, but it seemed to be enough for him, a beatific smile on his usually stoic face.

  
END.

**Author's Note:**

> Based, of course, on the delightful post-season 1 short animation, which you can (re)watch [HERE](https://youtu.be/iiPCa3UEv-Y).
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, you might try these:  
> [Cultural Differences](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13836030) (Free!), by kuonji  
> [Soulmates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16659547) (Free!), by kuonji  
> [Boxed In](https://archiveofourown.org/works/252996) (Gundam SEED), by kuonji  
> [One Size Doesn't Fit All?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008893) (Free!), by lovesickshipper  
> [Nothing But the Best](https://archiveofourown.org/works/979501) (Free!), by triste


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